After the Storm
by Dream-Runaway
Summary: Ten years later Sonny is the owner of Sunshine Studios while Chad went down for bad press. Positions have been switched- Sonny is at the top of the world and Chad at the bottom of it. What brought this on? But most importantly, what secrets are behind it?
1. Chapter 1

_It's ten years later. Sonny is the successful owner of Sunshine Studios while Chad went down for bad press. Positions have been switched- now Sonny is at the top of the world and Chad at the bottom of it. Could this change anything?_

**Chapter 1**

Sonny pulls in the parking lot of Sunshine Studios. She pulls down the mirror to check her lipstick. She quickly pats down some rebel hairs that were sticking out. She took her Gucci purse from her side and hung it on her shoulder as she stepped out of her shiny red Ferrari. Her six inch heels clicked on the pavement as her hair flowed in the air.

She wasn't looking ahead as she checked her email on her phone. She had just gotten an email flashing urgent so she decided to check it first. She was so nervous about the content of it she didn't realize she was about to bump into someone.

She hit the other person so hard she dropped her phone and her sunglasses came down from the top of her head.

"Excuse me!" she yelled picking up her stuff from the floor.

The helpful hand of the man she had hit picked up her phone as she got her glasses. He heart stopped as she recognized the bracelet on the owner's wrist. It was silver thin and had a little plate hanging from it. In it read: _"__star-cross'd lovers"_. Her heart automatically recognized her all time favorite quote.

In that moment she felt her world falling apart. She had just picked up the whole pieces and someone had just come along break her down again.

She swallowed hard before looking up.

"Chad" she whispered.

"Sonny" he said half scared to death.

They both started to say something at the same time and stopped themselves.

"You first..." Sonny said.

"I didn't expect to meet you here" Chad said looking down embarrassed with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah well, I own this studio so..." she said not meeting his eyes.

"I was just... well, I knew you'd be here I just didn't expect to run into you" he defended himself.

"Oh" Sonny said.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. No one knew what to say but they felt like someone should say something.

Sonny decided to cut down to it.

"What are you doing here, Chad?" she said a little impatient.

She breathed in deeply to keep calm. She finally decided to look at him. His hair was longer than she remembered and a little bit messier. His clothes were more like what you would expect anyone to wear. His cheekbones were a bit more prominent and she could tell he was skinnier. There were signs in his face that showed he had gone through bad times while Sonny looked better and brighter than ever. It almost made her feel guilty.

She had to remind herself it hadn't been her fault. It had been his. But she still couldn't shake away the guilt.

"Uh... I was thinking of auditioning for a part" he hurried the words obviously embarrassed by it.

"Why didn't you call first?" she asked with no idea why.

"Uh, would you have picked up?" he asked humble.

It stung but Sonny knew it was true. She just looked down at the pavement knowing he was right.

There was another moment of silence.

"Besides, I'm not famous anymore, so I don't have your cell. You changed it. I checked" he said like he could barely get the words out.

Sonny felt like she should have asked what part he was auditioning for and maybe secure him the part but the little devil in her left shoulder turned her into that witch she was so often lately.

She knew she would regret being like this and she knew she was being horrible but she just stomped away leaving a 28 year old standing speechless in the parking lot of Sunshine Studios.

As soon as she was out of sight he kicked the floor.

"Damn it!" he yelled.

Sonny winced as she heard him from the other side of the glass doors.

A big fat pain stabbed her chest and she wanted to go back there and tell him all she hadn't been able to before.

**Tell me should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Wow, I got some reviews, lol. Thank you for all who reviewed. I thought no one would like this story, but I guess some of you do so it wouldn't be fair if I didn't continue. I promise you will like it so keep on reading.**_

**Chapter 2**

Sonny was making her way to her office.

_I can't believe he dared show up here._

She felt kind of dizzy and like she might throw up.

There was a familiar feeling at the pit of her stomach and she wanted to let out a groan or a cry, she didn't know which.

She wished she could put this whole thing behind her but she just couldn't. Today was important. She had come up with an idea for a new movie and she was sure it would be a success. They all were. As of now she had one of the most popular studios in California. She had thought her calling was in acting but even though she was great what she really enjoyed was filmmaking.

She always made sure to direct the films she liked the most and she had even acted in some of them.

She was going to pick the actors for her newest film today.

They were doing the casting today- her, Terry Davis, and Oliver Sanchez.

It was a Romantic movie about a boy who meets the girl of his dreams but he doesn't know that she's really a fairy who was sent to make him understand love so he would stop breaking hearts.

She was of course directing it and she really liked to do most things herself so she was making sure that the right cast was picked.

She left her office as quick as she went in it. She just got the papers she would need for the auditions.

She went in the elevator to go down to where the auditions would be held.

As she stood there she could only pray Chad had been kidding about auditioning.

She would so not pick him.

No way.

She walked in to find Oliver and Terry already sitting waiting for her.

She said hi with her brightest smile as she sat down between them.

"I can't believe you, Sonny. You really don't trust us to pick capable actors?" Oliver said in a serious tone but Sonny knew he was only kidding.

"C'mon, guys. You know me. I trust you but I'm very into this film and I want everything to be perfect. I'll just be worrying the whole day anyway so I might as well be here. Besides, last time I left it up to up to other people when it was a movie that really mattered to me they went ahead and picked Portlyn! My all time enemy! It was a tragedy. I had to move a couple of planets to kick her out and you would think that since I'm the owner of the studios it should be easy as pie? Yeah, not really. Even I don't have a genie that grants my wishes. There were contracts to break and unnecessary people to fire and extra checks to give out. It was a living hell' she said waving her hand around like she didn't want to get into it.

"Well, you have us now" Terry said.

"Yeah, well. I trusted those other guys, too" she laughed.

Both guys rolled their eyes at her.

"Anyway, you're late so we better get started" Terry accused her with a smirk on his face.

Like all auditions, there were good actors and bad actors.

But mostly bad.

They gave Sonny a headache.

She had gone through all the actresses to play the role of the fairy, Camilla. There had been at least 800 girls auditioning.

She had been able to narrow it down to a top 10 but it was still harsh.

Girl # 1 was almost perfect for the part.

She had imagined Camilla beautiful and she was. She had golden hair flowing down her back and gray eyes. She had a delicate complexity which went good with her but she was a bit too tall. After all, fairies weren't supposed to be huge and this girl was like 5'10".

Girl # 2 wasn't as beautiful but her acting was remarkable. She had been in a couple of small movies and this would be her big break. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes. But her voice was kind of annoying and she wasn't sure that would be acceptable.

Girl # 3 was your pixy girl- small, adorable, and pretty enough. But her acting wasn't as good as the others' even though it was really good.

Girl # 4 was everything she was looking for- gorgeous, great actress, perfect. But you could tell she was spoiled type who thought she could get everything she wanted. Not so awesome.

Girl # 5 was pretty and she had actually been in other movies before which is always good but she was the rebellious type. They were hard to work with. And she would bring bad press. Sonny knew some people actually used bad press for popularity but that wasn't her style. She was either good for what she was or she wasn't at all.

Girl # 6 had red hair and green eyes. Not her perfect choice but she was very good at acting and you could tell she _really _wanted the part and was a big fan of it even if it was only in the casting process. That was very important since they usually did the best job at it since they loved it so much.

Girl # 7 was beautiful but in your typical hot girl way not the delicate type and she didn't want someone who could be judged as the wrong girl. And this girl had to look like a fairy not a stripper.

Girl # 8 was the best actress of them all but she had crooked teeth. Sonny wasn't the type of girl to judge people by their looks but right here she was looking for the gasp in amazement type of girl.

Girl # 9 was her twin- happy, funny, talented and pretty. But if she had wanted someone like that she could have done the role herself.

Girl # 10 was something else. Sonny really thought she had the best chances of the role. It was her movie but she was everything girl # 1 was except she could really act. If she picked her she would definitely make Sonny proud. Her only defect was she was a flirt. Not the slutty type. You could tell she was very nice and had a great heart but she really flirted too much! It could be trouble if she flirted with the wrong people.

After all the girl admissions were done came the auditions for the male protagonist- Caleb.

Sonny had been told there were only about 400 for this part since boys didn't really dig romantic comedies.

The suspense was really killing her. She still kept some hope that Chad wouldn't really be auditioning for this part. One encounter a day was more than enough.

Boys and boys came in and out but none of them were very good.

It was quite hopeless.

So few of them were good actors and even fewer were handsome or even good-looking!

There were a couple of them that were passable but they didn't really fit and she wasn't comfortable with them.

There were about 10 more guys left but she had very little hope.

With the worrying of not finding the right one she had almost forgotten about Chad and when those startling blue eyes walked in she thought she would have a heart attack.

She felt dizzy and wanted to throw up. Why did that always happen?

They were supposed to read a part of the script where Caleb is declaring his love for Camilla.

Most guys would look at Sonny while reciting it so they didn't have to stare at the white wall and Sonny didn't feel uncomfortable at all. It was totally normal and she even did it herself in the past when she auditioned for parts herself. It helped. It was completely normal. And she knew for a fact that Chad did exactly the same thing.

She gulped as he got ready to start.

As she had expected he raised his eyes at her, and started talking.

"But, Camilla, you don't understand! You are different! You aren't like the other girls. I mean, I've never felt like this before. And it scares me but at the same time I love it and I don't want to let go of this feeling, or most importantly, of you" he said with so much feeling it looked almost real. He really _was _good. "I don't care what you say. I know that as much as you don't want to admit to me or to yourself, you are in love with me as well. I don't care about that nonsense you say about you being a fairy and about fairies not being able to feel or whatever. I don't care _what_ you are. I love _who _you are. And I know you feel the same way so why don't you give this thing a chance? I promise you that I can make you happy and treat you right and you'll be happier than you've ever been in your 1300 years. And... I also know that... oh, Camilla, if I don't have you I will die" he paused for the extra effect. "I know it may sound like I'm lying, I know I deserve it, I really have earned myself that title, but you have to believe me. I'm not the old Caleb. I've changed. I've changed for _you_" Chad finished.

Sonny was so startled she almost didn't react.

These lines had hit too close to home.

_**So... like it? REVIEW! Please, the more reviews I get the faster I'll update. :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_I suck. I've deserted you all for so long :'(. But here it is finally! :D_

**Chapter 3**

"Oh...My...God!" exclaimed Terry once the auditions were over and they were finally alone. "I simply _cannot_ believe Chad Dylan Cooper came to audition!"

"I know, right! The nerve to show up here..." Sonny started furious but Oliver interrupted her.

"This is perfect!" he practically yelled.

Sonny's mouth opened in shock. She looked at Oliver with her eyes wide open as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"I _know_!" agreed Terry cheerfully.

"What?" Sonny asked.

For a moment there she thought she had had the sympathy of her two friends but found none.

"But...! You guys? What do you mean perfect? You don't mean that this is actually a good thing!" she said her voice getting high and whiny.

"Sonny! Have you thought about this? This is exactly what we need!" Terry explained to her in full excitement.

"No! We do not need a retired, trashed actor to bring bad press to our movie!" she replied.

"Can you imagine the fuzz?" Oliver said with shiny eyes.

"Yeah! That's exactly what I mean! Thank you!" she said a little relieved thinking Oliver was on her side.

"It would be perfect!" Terry added.

"I _know_!" Oliver said back.

"Oliver! No! This isn't good!" she said trying to make them reason.

"Sonny..." Oliver said turning his head sideways a little bit.

"We have the life evidence right there outside that door that bad press is not exactly the way to get famous- not _good _famous anyways" she said pointing at the white doors.

Oliver and Terry both raised their eyebrows at her.

"I do _not _do bad press!" she said firmly.

"Sonny, that was _years _ago! No one remembers that. But when we bring back one of the best actors Hollywood has seen we will be one of the richest studios in Hollywood! When people see Chad Dylan Cooper in a new movie after all this time they will not be thinking of whatever he did in the past! They will be thinking of the fact that he is back! Not the past, but the he is back! This wouldn't be bad press, just attention!" Terry tried to convince Sonny.

"You don't know that. If the gossip magazines and channel decide that it will get them more money to trash him again and with him our movie, guess what? They will do it!" she said.

"Sonny... who did I work for before you discovered my talents for movie making and hired me?" Oliver asked.

Sonny rolled her eyes.

"Tween Weekly, yes. I know about this stuff. The whole story quieted down because it had gotten old. People did not want t hear about it anymore. And guess what? They still don't! They want change and that's what we will give them. They will love the fact that Chad is 'reformed' even if he's not. We will get free advertising! _Voila_! Sonny, what we have on our hands right now is sooo precious... oh why can't you see it?" Oliver said.

Sonny bit her lip. All this made her so nervous. What if it didn't come out how they'd wanted it? What if it came out wrong? She just had really gotten into this movie and wanted everything to be perfect.

She was on the verge of crying.

She rested her elbows on the table on put her face in her hands.

Terry put his hand on her back.

"Sweetie, we know you are under a lot of stress but trust me, this really is for the best" Terry said.

Sonny needed the comfort and stayed put for about a minute. Then she looked up again.

She looked more relieved and happier. She sighed deeply.

"Alright" she simply said with a small smile.

Terry and Oliver both smiled.

"You're making the right choice here Sonny. You'll see" Oliver said.

"This better come out right or I'm firing you both" he threatened them with a laugh.

"It will" Oliver said assuring as he stood up and patted her head.

"Hey!" she said finally laughing all stress gone.

She could not believe she was doing this.

...later...

Sonny walked in her office and gave Pamela, her assistant the results of the auditions.

Pamela was a pale, short redhead with glasses. She was always trying to do a good job and tried to please Sonny in everything. Her dream was to have her own studios one day so she tried her hardest.

"So how did the auditions go?" she asked.

"Ugh! Not so great" Sonny said with a disappointed look on her face.

"Why not?" she asked as she took the papers. But she didn't need an answer. As soon as she opened the folder she gasped and dropped it. She quickly looked at Sonny with her eyes wide open.

"NO!" she gasped as she looked at Sonny.

Sonny swallowed hard and just nodded.

"Yup" she said as if trying to believe t herself.

"But..." she started.

"I had no other choice" Sonny said as her eyes got watery and she tried to suppress a feeling in her inside which promised to come out as a sob if she as much as opened her mouth.

She just sat down and woke her computer.

"Miss Co..." Pamela tried to ask is she was alright.

"Just write the cast down and save it in the archives, Pamela" she said without looking at her.

Pamela just sat back down.

"And I thought I asked you not to call me that" Sonny said looking at the computer screen.

"I'm sorry" Pamela apologized.

They worked silently for the next hour until it was time for Pamela's break.

Once she was out the door Sonny felt free to let out the emotions she hadn't been able to in her presence.

She cried for a 40 whole minutes.

_**I know you think Pamela was about to call her Miss Cooper and that this means Chad and Sonny were married before. Well, guess again because you are wrong. MUAHAHAHA! ME EVIL! Keep reading to find out...**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, lol you guys, I have to give it to you guys you all had some pretty good guesses! But you're all wrong! And I've been asked whether Terry and Oliver are gay so this is the answer- maybe... I haven't decided yet but maybe...And I might get to the back-story in this chapter or the next, I haven't decided yet depends on how this chapter goes, but I love you all thanks for reviewing!**

**Chapter 4**

Tawni walked in her apartment holding a megazine.

She gasped.

"How can they say Vanessa wore that dress better than me? And what was she even doing wearing _my _dress? Oh! How dare she?" she said infinitely shocked.

_I wore that dress so much better._

_But no! 56% of the audience thought not! Whatever! _she thought as she put her purse in the bed and crashed on the couch.

She was still thinking over this when her phone rang Sonny's ringtone.

She picked up to hear sobs on the other side.

"Omg! Sonny, what's wrong?" Tawni asked alarmed.

"I-I-I ca-cas-casted Chad as th-the lead-leading man in m-my mo-movie" Sonny barely got out between sobs.

"But why!" Tawni almost yelled.

"I-I h-had to. All the o-o-other cho-ch-choices were b-bad. And Oli-Oliver an-and T-Terry think it'll be g-good for the m-m-movie" she cried.

"But Sonny! It doesn't matter! You shouldn't have! What about you?" she asked.

This went on for about another hour and Tawni patiently listened and advised.

At the end it was clear there was no choice but to keep Chad as it was impossible to do anything else.

Tawni yelled a bit at Sonny for being so stupid but didn't over do it. Poor Sonny had been under a lot of pressure and obviously hadn't thought that one through.

As Tawni hung up the phone she sighed and rested her head back on the couch.

This was a disaster.

A complete and utter disaster.

What had Sonny been thinking? And how could she have listened to those clowns? They obviously gave a crap whether Sonny killed herself over this or not. A true friend would have said not to hire Chad under any circumstances!

"UGH!" groaned Tawni. This could not be good. "Oh! Sonny! Where is your head? Why can't you ever think about yourself for once? You gotta stop being so stupid!" she said out loud as if speaking to Sonny.

Her memory brought back the sour times she wished she could forget.

They brought pain with them almost as if she were reliving them.

Even the happy times that had lead to the not-so-happy events were hurtful.

A big emptiness filled her chest and she wished she hadn't remembered.

She wanted to put it in the back of her head again like she'd done for years now.

A tear slid down her cheek as she thought about how it all had started.

_..."Tawni! Look! Who's that boy over there at the falls?" Sonny asked as she blushed slightly while getting her lunch._

_I looked that way and discovered that indeed there was a new boy at the table and he was gorgeous! He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He had one of those winning smiles you saw in Colgate commercials and such. He really was breathtaking. He was laughing with everyone as he sat down beside Chad. They gave each other a slap on the back as if they went way back. He was older though. Maybe around 21. Was he guest-starring in the Falls?_

_As I was thinking this I saw him glance our way and wink __at Sonny!_

_He liked her! I was mentally smiling._

_I looked at Sonny and saw her blush and give him a flirty look._

_Then Chad who had been laughing with Eric saw what was happening._

_He looked at the new boy and saw he was smiling._

_He looked our way looking for who he was smiling at and the moment he saw it was Sonny his face suddenly turned from a grin to a frown._

_He looked back and forth between them as if he couldn't quite believe it._

_He elbowed the boy and ended the moment._

_How dare he?_

_The boy looked at Chad like he wasn't happy._

_I couldn't hear what they were saying but it looked as if Chad was asking what the hell he was doing and the boy replied with smiles and saying how he found Sonny attractive or it looked that way anyways._

_The conversation didn't seem to end on friendly terms and they just got back to the group conversation._

_Chad didn't speak a word to him for the rest of the lunch time but the boy kept glancing at Sonny and she at him._

_It was sooo cute._

_I could already picture those making eyes at each other in their first date._

_Yeah, I would help Sonny here._

_They had to make it work._

_I was happy the whole day knowing Sonny had found someone who admired her instead of that stupid Chad who always insulted her. Now she had someone better to occupy her thoughts._

_That is if Chad didn't mess it up which it looked like he would try from the looks he gave the new boy._

_He really had to leave Sonny alone._

_Why did he have to interfere with her happiness all the time?_

_It was almost as if he... he didn't._

Tawni put away the memory in pain and went to anything else that would distract her.

The guilt had formed in her stomach again and she wanted it gone.

She picked up the script of the movie she was filming to get more familiar with but really just to occupy her thoughts so she wouldn't think of a certain time.

...

The alarm ran waking Sonny up.

She opened her eyes confused.

Why had she put the alarm on?

It was her day off.

Then it came back.

Today was August 24th.

Right.

She slowly got up with a pain in the gut.

She went to her closet to pick out something but she already knew what she would get.

It was at the very end of it, the last dress.

She took out the black fabric and took some high heels that matched from the bottom shelf.

She made her way to the bathroom already starting to cry.

It really was too early.

It usually came about after breakfast at least.

But today she would have no breakfast.

She felt sick to her stomach and she knew it had nothing to do with her health.

After showering she sat in front of the mirror.

She wondered whether she should wear waterproof mascara or just none at all.

No, she wanted to look pretty.

She took out the mascara and started applying it to her eyelashes.

Once she was done she took out her red lipstick.

She only wore on this day now.

She didn't know why but she couldn't bring herself to wear it anymore on regular days.

Red lipstick had once been her favorite but not anymore.

She put some on as another tear slid down her cheek.

She breathed deeply to stop any others on their way.

It was far but she needed the walking.

She took a black umbrella from the top shelf and since it was sunny.

She wished it weren't.

She wished it were windy and cloudy and stormy and depressing like her mood.

For the final touch she opened a drawer and dipped her hand till the end and took out a golden ring.

She looked at it before putting it on.

It had the words _CDC loves SM _inscribed in the inside.

She put the diamond band in her left hand in her ring finger and stepped out the door a beauty in **black.**

**Gimmie your thoughts people.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Sonny was walking slowly looking down at the floor. She knew she could bump into people and things if she didn't pay attention where she was going but she didn't care. A tear slid down her cheek even though she knew she shouldn't cry.

If Tawni knew only that she still visited she knew she was in for a good share of screaming, let alone that she cried for him.

She knew in her insides that he deserved neither one- tears nor visits.

But she couldn't help herself from either one.

She wished she could hate him, god knew he deserved it, but she couldn't.

She knew she had a problem.

Regular people hated so why couldn't she?

She was 100% sure the only flowers, tears or visits he would get today were from her, the one person who had the most reasons not to do these things.

She knew his family didn't even think of him and when his parents were asked how many children they had they said only one as opposed to two.

He had been erased from their memories and love even though they shouldn't have.

They were related to him and owed him at least forgiveness.

But he didn't get any, only Sonny's.

Sonny forgave him, loved him, and remembered him even though she had been the victim herself.

But what no one understood was that Sonny was eaten up with guilt.

She felt as if his death had been her fault.

But no one knew why but herself and someone else.

Even if that someone else disagreed with her.

But inside her, deep inside her, she knew it had been her fault.

She blamed herself whether she deserved it or not.

She certainly believed she did.

She was almost there.

She kept her face looking down.

She felt ashamed and wouldn't look up.

She knew her way to his grave without help from her eyes.

And then she bumped into someone.

She gasped.

She looked up alarmed.

"Chad?" she asked as she frowned.

There stood in front of her a superiorly tall blonde with piercing dry blue eyes.

"Sonny? What are you doing here?" he asked almost mad as he saw her standing there, tears running down her face.

"You know perfectly what I'm doing here. But... why are you? I thought..." she said confused.

"I haven't forgiven him, I don't think he deserves me here, but I'm not completely bad, you know?" he said as he looked deeply into her eyes.

His face softened as he saw the suffering in Sonny's.

He carefully reached for her face to dry it but Sonny rudely pushed away his hand.

Will you be here much longer?" she asked down to business. "I'd like some time alone".

He didn't speak for a few seconds as his gaze suffocated Sonny and made her endlessly uncomfortable.

She swallowed hard as she surrendered and looked away.

"Well?" she asked not meeting his eyes.

He sighed.

"No" and walked away without another word.

Sonny looked back to see him walk away.

He didn't look back once.

She felt her knees facing the grave and let her tears stream down her face like heavy rain.

She let her mind wander through memories...

_..."Tawni! Tawni!" Sonny yelled into her phone._

_"OMG! What is it? Is everything ok?" Tawni asked alarmed._

_"Ok? Everything is perfect! Oh, Tawni, he asked me out! He asked me out!" Sonny exclaimed excitedly._

_"Who did?" she asked._

_"Christopher!" Sonny's voice rang in Tawni's ear._

_Tawni gasped._

_"Chistopher? As in... as in.. as in CHRISTOPHER DANIEL COOPER?" Tawni could not believe it._

_"Yup" Sonny confirmed with a grin in her face. "Chad's brother just asked me out" she said overcome wiht joy._

_"Oh... my... god... How did Chad take it?" Tawni asked._

_"Psh! What do I care?" Sonny replied. "I don't think he even knows" she laughed._

_"I don't think he will like it" Sonny said serious._

_Sonny stopped laughing._

_"Why not?" she asked._

_"C'mon, Sonny. Everyone knows Chad is so mean to you cuz he's crazy about you and he can't stand it" Tawni laughed._

_Sonny got buterflies in her stomach and frowned._

_"Well, he can like me all he wants for all I care cuz I have a date with his brother" Sonny said and clicked._

**Sorry about the short chapter, I promise next one will be better. Actually, the more reviews I get the better it will be ;D.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Wow, guys, I'm so sorry I took so long to update! my computer broke and my dad just enjoyed my misery too much to get it fixed right away. Sorry again..._

"What? Are you kidding me? Oh my god!" Sonny said in a shaking voice as she put down the magazine on the table. She supported herself by leaning against the wall. She might fall otherwise. She picked up her eyes and finally met Tawni's gaze as she raised her eyebrows as if in wonder. Sonny's eyes fall to the floor again and a tear threatened to come out. Her eyes went back to the cover of the magazine. Half of it was covered with her own picture as she stepped out of a shop holding a bag and wearing sunglasses. In the other half Chad half hesitantly looked over his shoulder as he walked some street of Hollywood. And then in the middle of the page in bold big yellow letters it read: "Channy, connecting again?".

"Well, at least you're getting what you wanted. Promotion for your movie and before it has even started filming" Tawni said sarcastically. She switched positions and decided to walk around the room with her hands inserted in her back pockets. Her blonde curls jumped all over the place as she paced back in forth.

"What was I thinking?" Sonny said as she licked her lips and that tear finally showed itself. With one hand she ran her fingers though her hair as she breathed deeply to calm herself and took the magazine with the other and threw it out the window.

"Sonny, don't torture yourself over this anymore. What is done, done is. Are you going to have to put up with some gossip? Yes, as we obviously see, but you knew that from the beginning so now we have only to put up with it" Tawni reasoned.

Sonny walked towards her desk and sat down. She put her hands on her face to cover it in shame. She took a deep breath.

"Right. Better be positive about this. On the bright side I'm getting free advertising" Sonny said trying to brighten her mood. In a few minutes she would walk in to direct and she knew everyone's eyes would be on her so she better look in control.

"Right. Now, just make sure not to go anywhere with Chad; don't be caught with him anywhere but on the studio, you hear me? If they find any excuse to trash you they will, and we both know bad press is not the way to go at it. Listen to me when I tell you this. If anyone catches you in anything that might look just one bit suspicious, forget about it cuz you will be swept away just like you know who" Tawni warned her.

Sonny's eyes were looking out the window in deep thinking. She just said:

"I know"

Her mind was now drifting far back...

_Sonny was grinning as she changed out her costume into regular clothes. It is her date with Christopher tonight. She had gone crazy looking for something to wear all week long and finally decided to just buy something. She got a cute topless dark magenta dress with a wide black belt in the middle and the hem to half her thighs. She looked hot in it and she knew she would blow him away. Funny thing was she caught herself thinking of Chad as she thought the last sentence instead of her date. She knew that while Christopher would find her hot in it Chad would think she looked beautiful. Christopher would cleverly compliment her while Chad would stand speechless. She also knew at the end of the date Christopher would put his hand around her waist while Chad would have held her hand._

_She gasped._

_No! She shouldn't be thinking those things. What kind of person did that?_

_No, she would go home, put on her new outfit and look striking for Christopher and him only even if it killed her that Chad wouldn't see her in it. She would die to see his face._

_She closed her thoughts that way as she grabbed her purse off the side table and started walking outside. But she hadn't stepped three feet out of the building when she felt a strong hand grab her arm._

_She gasped._

_She turned around ready to punch her kidnapper when she realized it was only Chad._

_"What do you want?" she asked sharply._

_"Is Christopher messing with me or are you really going on a date tonight with him?" he asked fiercely._

_She looked him up and down considering what to say._

_She shook her arm and freed herself._

_"None of your business" she said with piercing eyes and walked away._

_"Are you crazy?" he asked infuriated._

_"What? Why shouldn't I go on a date with him?" she spit back._

_His eyes trembled and his jaw shook in anger but he said nothing. His fingers curled around Sonny's arm with strength as if he could stop her from going._

_Sonny snorted._

_"It's not like you want me for yourself or something" she laughed._

_Chad's eyes only pierced her own as he intently kept his gaze on her._

_Sonny's jaw dropped._

_"Oh... my... god..!" she exclaimed almost speechless._

_Chad's embarrassed eyes looked down as he searched for the right words._

_But there were none so he just gave up and said:_

_"Just don't go, please" he begged._

_Sonny swallowed hard and her own gaze dropped to the floor._

_Chad suddenly realized he was holding her arm too tight and let go._

_"I'm going" she said and with these cold words she not only put physical distance between them._

**well... REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Ok, cut!" Sonny yelled through her megaphone. She jumped off her director's chair that was too high for her and stepped on her heels.

They had just finished filming one of the first scenes- when Caleb meets Camilla for the first time.

She had to admit that choosing girl # 10. It had been a close match between #6 and # 10 but in the end the last one took it home. She really was great even though Sonny thought it took little to act bedazzled around Chad.

It's not like it was hard for her to act like she had just seen an angel.

Chad _was _an angel- looks wise anyway.

Since they had met Sonny could tell she was out to get him and she couldn't exactly blame her for falling for CDC- she hadn't been the first.

Sonny reflected on this with a bit of melancholy.

She crossed the set in her high heels. She was wearing black leggings and a puffy skirt with a beige top that went inside the skirt. She had curled her as she seldom did even though everyone told her she looked stunning in it. Her lip-gloss was darkish red but not too much. She had on her brand new mascara. It wasn't even out in the market yet but she had connections. She was happy to find out it did wonders as her lashes looked fuller, longer, and more defined than ever. She could tell it would be a hit, this new product. She had to admit to herself- she looked great but without looking like she was trying.

She had searched for reasons to justify her extra carefulness with her looks today with something other than the fact that it was Chad's first day on set but she could find no other.

She was shameless.

She could see Chad out of the corner of her eye as he stood next to girl #10- Lisa. She was surrounded by other male crew members but her gaze was focused on Chad as she told a joke. All the guys laughed except Chad whose eyes had never been on Lisa but hadn't left Sonny.

She laughed to herself. She felt smug. She wasn't jealous of this girl because she and her both knew that as long as Sonny was in the room it wouldn't matter even if Megan Fox was there because Chad would have eyes for Sonny and Sonny only. It kinda made Sonny sad and something got stuck at the top of her throat and she knew it was a sigh.

Great.

First day and already there's trouble.

She just hoped she could get this movie over with already. What had started as an exciting and promising project had turned into a Chad-full nightmare.

She was leaning over the computer while she saw the scene they had just filmed again to make sure it was perfect.

She tried to pretend like she hadn't noticed how Chad kept looking at her when he thought no one was looking.

But she knew almost everyone had noticed by now even if he didn't know it.

There were people whispering everywhere and she felt as if she had a funny hat on and they were all talking about it.

But she knew it was about Chad and her.

She could tell how the people looked back and forth between the two as they spoke as low as possible.

It's never good to be caught gossiping about your boss.

It was all getting too uncomfortable for Sonny so even though she wanted to reshoot the scene she felt like calling it a day but no, this could not affect her work. This movie had to be perfect and she would do all that it took to make sure it was like that.

Chad's interference would and could not unsettle her. She was actually starting to believe he might be doing it just to make her uncomfortable; just to bother her.

"Ok, people, let's get together, we're gonna reshoot the whole scene again" Sonny yelled out of her megaphone.

She could hear everyone groaning.

"Hey! Hey! HEY! If this set is too much for any of you please tell me and you can be out of here as soon as you say the words. There's thousands of people who can and would die to have your jobs so don't think it will be hard t replace any of you. Now let's make this movie happen" she said and lowered her megaphone.

All around it got silent and everyone went back to their positions to get ready to reshoot the scene.

She went over to her chair and put the megaphone down and started walking towards Chad and Lisa.

When she reached them she said:

"I need to talk to you two" she said motioning for the little crowd around them to leave.

As soon as it was the three of them she stepped closer.

"I'm not seeing this" Sonny shook her head. "You guys have to figure out whatever it is that's going wrong here. I see Lisa very into her role, I mean she's really living it but you're also kinda overdoing it in some parts. I think you know what I'm talking about. And you, Chad, are the complete opposite. I'm not seeing the chemistry here. You're looking at her like she's some piece of walking wood or something. I don't see you in love with her. Caleb is supposed to be struck by her. He is supposed to find her so beautiful and he's astonished and... you feel me? And you can't tell me it's Lisa. I mean, she's beautiful, it's not like you don't find her pretty. You're not trying hard enough. It's like your head's somewhere else; I don't know. I was expecting better from you, I mean, you've done roles like these by the million. This is your field of expertise! You should be outshining Lisa but it's the other way around!" she explained.

Chad was furious. He was obviously not used to be spoken to like that. But even he had to admit he was doing below his avergae.

"So, how is it supposed to be? Huh? Like this?" he said as he stared at Sonny and started reciting his lines. "'Camilla... your name is beautiful" he said looking into Sonny's eyes. There was such intensity in his. "Almost as beautiful as you" he said and his eyes shone. His hand reached for Sonny's cheek and he caressed it like he was supposed to. Sonny's stomach was really giving it to her. She felt like a million butterflies were fluttering in it. She could only look at Chad as he kept repeating his lines. "Forgive me if I'm being so bold but I had never set my eyes on such a pretty sight as you" he said as if he were so overcome with her as he could be. "Why, it wouldn't be hard at all for any man to fall in love with you. You're bewitching" he finished and dropped his hand from Sonny's face. Sonny was speechless. The way he had spoken, the way he had said those words, it was almost as if he weren't saying them out of a script at all. Chad's eyes still held Sonny's but he finally came back. Sonny could swear she had see his eyes water as he had said the last phrase- you're bewitching.

Sonny swallowed hard.

"Is that how it's supposed to be?" he asked again.

'Yes, that's exactly it. Just make sure to do it like that this time" she said and walked away.

As she sat down she noticed all eyes had been on them as Chad had spoken.

Everyone stared now.

She saw out of the corner of her eye as Lisa gave her killer look. Her hands were crossed across her chest and she glared at Sonny furiously.

"Ok, let's do this. 3,2,..." and she did a silent one with her lips as the scene started all over.

Chad was doing much better but obviously not the same as when he'd had Sonny in front of him.

She felt on eyes on her as everyone could see Chad wasn't doing it the same way as he had with Sonny.

She wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there.

This was going to be a long day...


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sonny walked in the door to her apartment with her head spinning.

She could not believe Chad would make such a spectacle in front of her employees.

When Chad was done saying his lines to Sonny, everyone had been staring at them.

She liked to think the people she employed were smart but you didn't have to be to realize why Chad had suddenly gone from a bad performance to one of the greatest he'd ever done.

And Sonny suspected it was because it hadn't been a performance at all.

She knew Chad had meant every of those words.

Sonny had gotten used to putting up with Chad's crap over the years.

But he could not embarrass her in front of the people who worked for her.

But then again it didn't matter whether there were people watching.

Didn't Chad have any dignity left?

_Well, it is Chad we're talking about, after all _Sonny thought.

She walked to her bedroom and undid her scarf throwing it on the bed and collapsing on it herself.

Her head was a mess.

She couldn't think.

She kept trying to decide what bothered her the most- that Chad had embarrassed her and made a show in front of all the crew or that he had spoken like that to her after all that had happened in the past.

But in the very back of her head she knew it was neither of those reasons.

She had been embarrassed before. She was the type of girl who didn't fuss over that stuff very much. She moved on. She didn't let those little things get to her.

She was also used and therefore expecting Chad to do things like that. It was his nature. She knew she couldn't do anything about it. And, yes, from time to time, he would do things like that. She was perfectly aware of it as much as she had been when she decided to hire him for the part.

No, it was neither of those reasons.

The real reason was that when Chad had looked into her eyes, she had surrendered, as she apparently couldn't help doing every time those irises focused on hers and the blue of them overwhelmed her with an intensity that made her forget where she was, who she was. The real reason was that, when Chad had opened his mouth to say those words that were so true to him, her heart had melted with every syllable he uttered and she had been frozen by the sound of them- by their meaning, and by the very sound of his voice- that voice she could not, no matter how she tried, ever erase from her memory. The real reason was that, when Chad's fingertips had caressed her cheek, she got gotten goose bumps all over and currents of electricity had ran through every cell in her body and a little something had gone from her to him, and back from him to her in that second where their bodies had touched once again, and the feel of it still burned the skin where it had been.

But Sonny would never admit this to herself.

She knew better.

She was a grown woman now- not that little girl from years ago. Life and experience had taught her too much for the good of her own heart.

Heart.

Heart...

_...Heart? Oh, Chris! It is so beautiful! I don't think I've ever owned or seen a necklace so beautiful!" Sonny exclaimed overwhelmed with happiness._

_She looked up at her boyfriend again and couldn't believe she was dating someone so sweet and handsome._

_He was almost the most handsome man she'd ever seen- "except for Chad" an evil something told her in the back of her head._

_Chris reached for her and kissed her as they sat in his shiny convertible while the stars shone above them in Lookout Mountain._

_This reminded her of another time she had been in the same place in a very similar car with a slightly better looking guy and something kinda hurt in her chest._

_But today she was here with Christopher celebrating their six month anniversary and from her chest hung a beautiful diamond in the shape of a heart._

_Their lips parted and a smile formed in both their faces._

_Christopher reached for the necklace and looked at it._

_"It's almost as beautiful as you are" he said looking at her eyes._

_She looked into them and wanted to be as bewitched as she always was when a similar pair of eyes looked at her._

_But even though they were almost the same there was something else there..._

_These didn't enchant her like the others did._

_"Thank you" she said as she blushed by the compliment._

_Christopher breathed deeply and held his breath._

_Sonny waited._

_Christopher opened his mouth but struggled._

_A nervous laugh came out as he looked down in shame._

_"What is it?" Sonny asked confused._

_Christopher looked up again and his face made Sonny think of a baby._

_It looked afraid and somehow loving._

_"Sonny... I... I... I love you, Sonny" he choked out the words._

_Sonny gasped._

_She lifted her hand up to her mouth._

_"Oh, Chris..." she said moved. "I love you, too" she answered but felt guilty instantly._

_Why did __**her**__ words make her feel empty instead of fulfilled._

_Almost as if... as if she were telling a lie..._

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